Use of PFA with EAPs

By definition as it relates to disaster scenarios, by the time an EAP provides onsite services, PFA would have already been deployed to those in the wake of the event. In fact, the EAP may have been identified during the delivery of PFA as the next resource being organized to assist recovery. However, in many of the events EAPs get involved with that require a group debriefing intervention, PFA has not been part of the intervention.

Many of the skills of PFA are used in several of the Onsite Services.  Take for instance an employee who is going to be laid off.  The news may produce a stress reaction and level of agitation that an onsite EAP counselor will be faced with.  This counselor will use PFA skills to help the individual to manage the reactions, provide stability and comfort, assess for the use of additional resources and provide additional information on coping.

Corporations do not understand that there are stages that employees will go through- shock being the first.  This lends the employee psychologically unavailable for group interventions. Nonetheless the workplace wants someone there ASAP.  This is the perfect fit for use of PFA until the group intervention is appropriate.  It is a difficult discussion but one that should be approached.  The workplace mentality can be, "I purchased "cisd services" and want a group done."

These and other scenarios will be discussed later in the training. For now, the skillset as outlined in the PFA Manual should be read and understood.